The Third Reich in Desperation

Looking at the quality of the officers, Gambala felt a burst of envy. How many of the Italian officers he brought could keep pace?

While taking out a document, Rommel walked forward and saluted Franco and Gambara with a standard military salute according to the etiquette.According to tradition, Rommel, with the rank of major general, should indeed salute the two allied generals, Franco and Gambala.However, seeing Rommel's meticulous salute, Gambala was still full of respect for this rigorous German general.

"Same as last time, let me first talk about the combat plan formulated by the German-Spanish Combined Corps." With a confident smile on his face, Rommel unceremoniously picked up the telescopic rod and pointed to the combat map on the wall: "We The German-Spanish United Corps can launch a large-scale offensive on the line from Huesca to Zaragoza in the northwest of Catalonia. At the same time, we hope that the Spanish National Army can contain the Ebro River defenders of the Republican Army on the southern line. As for the Italian Expeditionary Force, I believe it is fully capable of taking the Republican stronghold of Figueres in the north by itself, and completely cutting off the Republican Army's road connection with France."

"What do you think?" Rommel asked calmly.

"I agree, I trust your judgment." Franco, the leader of the Spanish National Army who is good at adapting to the wind, immediately got up to show his favor to Rommel.

"I am the same. General Rommel's military ability has been proven in previous wars. The combat effectiveness of the German-Spanish Combined Corps is also trustworthy. The Italian Expeditionary Force will do its best to cooperate." Gambala nodded, solemnly Rommel expressed his attitude.

This rare and excellent infantry general in Italy did not grab the main attack plan as the domestic leader requested.On the contrary, he agreed with Rommel's proposal without hesitation.After all, Rommel has given enough face to Italy, and handing over the relatively easy Figueres to the Italian attack alone can not only give the Italian Expeditionary Force a reasonable record, but also suit the Italian Expeditionary Force's combat level to execute.

Although on the surface, Gambala is a general and Rommel is a major general, Rommel had to salute Gambala when the two met.However, Gambala knew very well that his back in Spain was definitely not as hard as Rommel's.Yes, Rommel seemed to be asking for his own opinion, and he also saluted himself seriously, showing enough respect.

But if Gambala really opposed Rommel's plan, he believed that Rommel would not mind another "three-way march" and each would fight his own way.Respect is an attitude, but only an attitude.

Judging from the fact that Rommel is bound to win, he will never agree to change this plan.At least, he will not change the marching route of the German and Western United Corps.

"Then, let me introduce the details of the plan in detail." As Rommel's chief of staff, Gauss stood up with a smile, took the documents brought by Rommel from a German colonel, and said loudly:

The battle plan is mainly divided into three directions, which are carried out with the armies of the three countries as the main force.

On the northern front, the Italian Expeditionary Force alone undertook the occupation of Figueres, achieving the strategic goal of isolating the Republican Army.The specific marching and combat route will be determined by the Italian Expeditionary Force.

In the northwest direction, the German-Spanish Combined Corps will mobilize 1 German armored division plus 1 Spanish German armored division. With the cooperation of 10 supplemented German infantry divisions, they will wait for the opportunity to fight the main force of the Northern Front of the Republican Army. In one fell swoop, the route to Barcelona, ​​the capital of Catalonia, was opened.

On the southern front, the Spanish National Army under General Franco needs to launch a diversionary attack of more than 6 people on the Republican Army on the Ebro River, trying to tie the main force of the Southern Republican Army to the Ebro River. on the ground.

The entire combat plan is expected to be completed within 15 days. The strategic purpose is to cut off the road between the Republican Army and the outside world, take the capital of Catalonia, and annihilate the Northern Main Army of the Republican Army...

Body 1 Chapter Nine: The First Flight of the Young Eagle

At an airstrip originally belonging to the Republican Army, a total of 20 new German fighter jets newly transferred to Spain have been tested.These new aircraft belonging to Germany's newly established Fourth Air Force (known as the Spanish Special Air Force to the outside world) are about to launch a preliminary battle for air supremacy against the defense line against the Republican Army.

The 20 pilots who had just received Rommel's condolences and were transferred from the Soviet Union were the protagonists of this battle.They were all flying Me-109 fighter jets, a secret Luftwaffe weapon that first appeared on the Spanish battlefield.And these German boys are also very confident. They are all elites with more than 4 years of training experience and an average flight time of more than 800 hours.The dream of becoming an ace pilot may be realized in this war.

This kind of self-confidence of a novice before going to the battlefield, if placed in the army, may be ignorance of ignorance.But in the eyes of the top air force, this is a natural way of thinking.The Messerschmitt Me-109 fighter jet, which was previously the secret weapon of the Air Force, is the confidence of the Air Force.

This new fighter jet provided by Rhein Group has the most advanced aerodynamic shape, equipped with retractable landing gear, openable canopy, automatic flaps, lower monoplane, etc. An indisputable advantage over other opponents.Compared with the remaining Bellanca CH-300 aircraft of the Republican Army, the performance of the Me-109 has a crushing advantage.

Although the current Me-109E is slightly shorter in range, compared with the old fighters of the Republican Army, it is completely beyond the opponent's range.The most important thing is that Reinhardt adheres to the "fight and run tactics" to make this aircraft developed by the Reinhardt Group an excellent light high-speed fighter with the ability to quickly reach the battlefield.As a result, the Me-109 can attack multiple times in a short period of time and stabilize the air supremacy.

A German technician wiped the sweat from his head, let out a long sigh of relief, and smiled to the second lieutenant pilot in the cockpit: "The calibration is almost done, I will move the position of the machine gun a few millimeters later, and I will definitely guarantee you This trip went much smoother.”

The pilot sitting in the cockpit poked his head out, looked at the old technician with a smile and said, "Who doesn't know that you, Vanner, are the logistics master of our air force, and the planes you debug have never had any problems."

"Come on," the old technician joked in a proud tone that couldn't be concealed: "No matter how good the adjustment is, it only makes sense to have outstanding young people like you to fly. When you become an ace pilot, remember to invite me to drink alright."

The young second lieutenant smiled and complimented: "That is, I will never forget to thank you, Master Vanner. It's just that I heard that General Rommel ordered that all German soldiers transferred to Spain will not be allowed to work on weekdays." Drinking. Even on weekends, you can only have a bottle of beer at most."

After another half turn of the screw, the old technician rolled up his sleeves, finished the final adjustment, and joked to the second lieutenant in a happy mood: "Then have you heard the story of the last batch of German pilots who came to Spain?"

"Of course!" On the transport ship that came to Spain, he heard a lot about the glorious deeds of his predecessors.You know, that was the first shot of the new German Air Force, and it was a blockbuster move.The second lieutenant rubbed his hands with bright eyes and said, "I've heard that with 50 He-111 bombers, the seniors were able to fly unimpeded in the skies of Spain. Those biplanes with backward performance and poor ground artillery of the Republican Army were unimpeded by the seniors. They are practically useless in front of them, and they haven't even used much self-defense firepower!"

"Self-defense weapons were installed at the request of the head of state. Do you think it is redundant?" The old technician who knew a little bit of insider joked the second lieutenant.

"No wonder!" The second lieutenant rubbed the back of his head and laughed: "I said that anyone who is so careful can pay attention to such details that are difficult to find. It turns out that it is the respected head of state..."

The old technician waved his hand to interrupt the second lieutenant, and laughed loudly: "Come on, you would have thought so long ago?"

"Forget it." The old technician was not going to catch the second lieutenant's slip of the tongue, but turned around and untied himself: "I want to tell you that the last batch of pilot boys who came to Spain drank more than a bottle of beer on weekends They consume half a bottle of wine per capita almost every week, and these wines are all bought from Italy by the beloved head of state you just said."

"Long live the Führer!" The second lieutenant sang his beloved Führer again from the bottom of his heart, this time his tone was much more sincere than before.

Originally, there were not so many absolute restrictions on the battlefield. They were all soldiers with their heads hanging on their belts. It was almost commonplace to make small mistakes that did not affect major events.What's more, their head of state was a habitual offender who had been warned three times before crossing.

Being in the national army camp that has gained air supremacy, Rommel's air force has always been stationed in areas far from the front line, and it has formed a default practice of not going to work on weekends.During the days when Rommel stood still, not to mention the air force, even the army's reconnaissance troops did not move half a step away from the control line.

"Attention ground crews! Complete the final commissioning as soon as possible, and fill up the aircraft with fuel. Clear the runway within 10 minutes! Hurry up, the mission target has come down, and takeoff will start in 10 minutes!" The loser, the small airport logistics The captain urged loudly: "Don't procrastinate! The rookies in Spain are waiting for you."

The captain's words were obviously biased. If you want to say rookies, this group of German novices who are on the battlefield for the first time seems to be more suitable for this title.

But the captain didn't just say it casually. In fact, looking at the veterans of the Republican Army, they didn't even have half of the total flying time of these German pilots, and the flying time after the war was not enough!

"Put the landing gear back on." The old technician waved his hands back and said, "Remember to buy me a drink!"

The young second lieutenant waved back to the old technician with a smile, put his head back in the cockpit, and closed the canopy.

Exactly 30 minutes later, one after another the Me-109s made their first appearances as they curved gracefully across the airstrip.

"Control tower, this is aircraft No. 2! I'm pilot Theodore Rosenberg! Taking off, repeat, taking off!"

The future captain of the famous jet wing is just an ordinary pilot at the moment.Different from the arrogance later, Rosenberg at this moment reported to the podium very honestly.

"The control tower has received it. Keep the current heading and fly due east. Reminder, you are not flying a training plane, and you can continue to climb. Repeat, you can continue to climb."

Being able to climb to a higher position means that the survival rate of the next battle will be greatly doubled.In air combat, the suppression of flight altitude represents the one-sided battle.If you can't maintain it, you can't compare with the opponent's flying altitude, and it is almost difficult to shoot down the enemy plane.

And Me-109 happens to be at the forefront of the contemporary era in this regard.

Under the careful reminder of the command tower, these pilots, who had practiced climbing combat skills countless times on the Soviet training plane, easily crossed the clouds and rushed to the higher blue sky.

At the same time, at another medium-sized airport, 20 bombers with a large shape and a relatively slow speed also took off following the rhythm of the Me-109 and were responsible for the next bombing mission.

Although this military bomber, code-named Ju-87, is also a new aid model obtained by Rommel, it is not as optimistic as the Me-109.And because the name of this bomber in German is too long, the German and Western United Corps didn't even bother to read its full name, and simply called it "Stuka".

Body 1 Chapter [-]

In the blue sky, 20 Me-109s flew from west to east in a V shape.Due east of them, a formation of Republican fighter jets was attacking National Army ground targets.

"Attention all" As the captain of the German Air Force formation, Welsh calmly gave instructions to a group of novices: "No. 1 and No. 2 descend! Go below the clouds and observe the surrounding situation carefully. Others continue to maintain their current heights, Wait for my further orders!"

"Rosenberg received it, and the No. 2 aircraft began to descend. Repeat, the No. 2 aircraft began to descend!" Rosenberg on the No. 2 aircraft responded to Welsh's order while lowering the flight altitude.

"Clichy received, No. 1 aircraft is lowering altitude. Repeat, No. 1 aircraft is lowering altitude." As the wingman of No. 2 aircraft, the pilot of No. 1 aircraft, Chrissy, is slightly technically inferior to Rosenberg. A little short.But compared to the rookies of the Republican Army, any German pilot on the Spanish battlefield is not much worse.

With the dive and descent of the No. 2 aircraft, the No. 1 aircraft chose a more secure hovering descent.But in terms of action, both of them performed very standard.

After a while, the figures of two Me-109s appeared below the clouds, becoming the "eyes" of the entire formation, searching for the aircraft of the Republican Army.

..........

"It would be nice if you only need to deal with a bunch of ground targets every day," a Republican pilot chatted comfortably in the public channel.

This pilot can also be regarded as a veteran. He participated in two small air battles with the National Army in the early stage, and was lucky to survive.Later, the Republican Army received the Bellanca CH-2 assisted by Mexico, and the old pilot also logically switched to this new model.

I heard that the biplane I flew before has been destroyed by Italian fighter jets on the northern front.The old pilot is very fortunate that so far, he has not fought against the air force of the expeditionary force.He knew very well that this was the biggest reason why he was alive until now.